CA1249425A - Numerical-control machining center for structural sections - Google Patents
Numerical-control machining center for structural sectionsInfo
- Publication number
- CA1249425A CA1249425A CA000487899A CA487899A CA1249425A CA 1249425 A CA1249425 A CA 1249425A CA 000487899 A CA000487899 A CA 000487899A CA 487899 A CA487899 A CA 487899A CA 1249425 A CA1249425 A CA 1249425A
- Authority
- CA
- Canada
- Prior art keywords
- axis
- tool
- tools
- incremental
- produce
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Expired
Links
Classifications
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- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B23—MACHINE TOOLS; METAL-WORKING NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- B23B—TURNING; BORING
- B23B39/00—General-purpose boring or drilling machines or devices; Sets of boring and/or drilling machines
- B23B39/16—Drilling machines with a plurality of working-spindles; Drilling automatons
- B23B39/20—Setting work or tool carrier along a circular index line; Turret head drilling machines
- B23B39/205—Turret head drilling machines
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B23—MACHINE TOOLS; METAL-WORKING NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- B23B—TURNING; BORING
- B23B41/00—Boring or drilling machines or devices specially adapted for particular work; Accessories specially adapted therefor
- B23B41/003—Boring or drilling machines or devices specially adapted for particular work; Accessories specially adapted therefor for drilling elongated pieces, e.g. beams
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B23—MACHINE TOOLS; METAL-WORKING NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- B23Q—DETAILS, COMPONENTS, OR ACCESSORIES FOR MACHINE TOOLS, e.g. ARRANGEMENTS FOR COPYING OR CONTROLLING; MACHINE TOOLS IN GENERAL CHARACTERISED BY THE CONSTRUCTION OF PARTICULAR DETAILS OR COMPONENTS; COMBINATIONS OR ASSOCIATIONS OF METAL-WORKING MACHINES, NOT DIRECTED TO A PARTICULAR RESULT
- B23Q3/00—Devices holding, supporting, or positioning work or tools, of a kind normally removable from the machine
- B23Q3/155—Arrangements for automatic insertion or removal of tools, e.g. combined with manual handling
- B23Q3/157—Arrangements for automatic insertion or removal of tools, e.g. combined with manual handling of rotary tools
- B23Q3/15706—Arrangements for automatic insertion or removal of tools, e.g. combined with manual handling of rotary tools a single tool being inserted in a spindle directly from a storage device, i.e. without using transfer devices
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B23—MACHINE TOOLS; METAL-WORKING NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- B23Q—DETAILS, COMPONENTS, OR ACCESSORIES FOR MACHINE TOOLS, e.g. ARRANGEMENTS FOR COPYING OR CONTROLLING; MACHINE TOOLS IN GENERAL CHARACTERISED BY THE CONSTRUCTION OF PARTICULAR DETAILS OR COMPONENTS; COMBINATIONS OR ASSOCIATIONS OF METAL-WORKING MACHINES, NOT DIRECTED TO A PARTICULAR RESULT
- B23Q7/00—Arrangements for handling work specially combined with or arranged in, or specially adapted for use in connection with, machine tools, e.g. for conveying, loading, positioning, discharging, sorting
- B23Q7/04—Arrangements for handling work specially combined with or arranged in, or specially adapted for use in connection with, machine tools, e.g. for conveying, loading, positioning, discharging, sorting by means of grippers
- B23Q7/041—Arrangements for handling work specially combined with or arranged in, or specially adapted for use in connection with, machine tools, e.g. for conveying, loading, positioning, discharging, sorting by means of grippers step by step
- B23Q7/042—Arrangements for handling work specially combined with or arranged in, or specially adapted for use in connection with, machine tools, e.g. for conveying, loading, positioning, discharging, sorting by means of grippers step by step for the axial transport of long workpieces
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- G—PHYSICS
- G05—CONTROLLING; REGULATING
- G05B—CONTROL OR REGULATING SYSTEMS IN GENERAL; FUNCTIONAL ELEMENTS OF SUCH SYSTEMS; MONITORING OR TESTING ARRANGEMENTS FOR SUCH SYSTEMS OR ELEMENTS
- G05B19/00—Programme-control systems
- G05B19/02—Programme-control systems electric
- G05B19/418—Total factory control, i.e. centrally controlling a plurality of machines, e.g. direct or distributed numerical control [DNC], flexible manufacturing systems [FMS], integrated manufacturing systems [IMS], computer integrated manufacturing [CIM]
- G05B19/41815—Total factory control, i.e. centrally controlling a plurality of machines, e.g. direct or distributed numerical control [DNC], flexible manufacturing systems [FMS], integrated manufacturing systems [IMS], computer integrated manufacturing [CIM] characterised by the cooperation between machine tools, manipulators and conveyor or other workpiece supply system, workcell
- G05B19/41825—Total factory control, i.e. centrally controlling a plurality of machines, e.g. direct or distributed numerical control [DNC], flexible manufacturing systems [FMS], integrated manufacturing systems [IMS], computer integrated manufacturing [CIM] characterised by the cooperation between machine tools, manipulators and conveyor or other workpiece supply system, workcell machine tools and manipulators only, machining centre
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- Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
- Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
- Y02P—CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES IN THE PRODUCTION OR PROCESSING OF GOODS
- Y02P90/00—Enabling technologies with a potential contribution to greenhouse gas [GHG] emissions mitigation
- Y02P90/02—Total factory control, e.g. smart factories, flexible manufacturing systems [FMS] or integrated manufacturing systems [IMS]
-
- Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
- Y10—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC
- Y10T—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER US CLASSIFICATION
- Y10T408/00—Cutting by use of rotating axially moving tool
- Y10T408/36—Machine including plural tools
- Y10T408/37—Turret of tools
-
- Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
- Y10—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC
- Y10T—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER US CLASSIFICATION
- Y10T409/00—Gear cutting, milling, or planing
- Y10T409/30—Milling
- Y10T409/306664—Milling including means to infeed rotary cutter toward work
- Y10T409/306776—Axially
- Y10T409/307056—Axially and laterally
- Y10T409/307112—Simultaneously
-
- Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
- Y10—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC
- Y10T—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER US CLASSIFICATION
- Y10T409/00—Gear cutting, milling, or planing
- Y10T409/30—Milling
- Y10T409/30784—Milling including means to adustably position cutter
- Y10T409/308512—Compound angular adjustment
-
- Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
- Y10—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC
- Y10T—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER US CLASSIFICATION
- Y10T483/00—Tool changing
- Y10T483/13—Tool changing with control means energized in response to activator stimulated by condition sensor
-
- Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
- Y10—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC
- Y10T—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER US CLASSIFICATION
- Y10T483/00—Tool changing
- Y10T483/17—Tool changing including machine tool or component
- Y10T483/1733—Rotary spindle machine tool [e.g., milling machine, boring, machine, grinding machine, etc.]
- Y10T483/179—Direct tool exchange between spindle and matrix
Abstract
ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE
The center comprises a conveyor, a motor-driven carriage equipped with a gripper to move a section (2) over the conveyor, along a numerical axis toward the fixed frame (7) of a machining station, and a vise (11).
In accordance with the invention, the machining station in-cludes only the following: two moving elements (16, 21) adapted to move along cross-axes, the first said element (16) being movable relative to the fixed frame (7) and the second (21) being movable relative to the first (16), said second moving element (21) carrying a swivelling spindle head (25) equipped with at least one tool (5).
Also, the actuator (22) which controls the movement of each said element is a multipurpose actuator selectively controlled by the main numerical control program to execute either positioning-only commands, or feed-only commands, or combined commands, among others.
Figure 2.
The center comprises a conveyor, a motor-driven carriage equipped with a gripper to move a section (2) over the conveyor, along a numerical axis toward the fixed frame (7) of a machining station, and a vise (11).
In accordance with the invention, the machining station in-cludes only the following: two moving elements (16, 21) adapted to move along cross-axes, the first said element (16) being movable relative to the fixed frame (7) and the second (21) being movable relative to the first (16), said second moving element (21) carrying a swivelling spindle head (25) equipped with at least one tool (5).
Also, the actuator (22) which controls the movement of each said element is a multipurpose actuator selectively controlled by the main numerical control program to execute either positioning-only commands, or feed-only commands, or combined commands, among others.
Figure 2.
Description
2~9~
merical-Control ~achining Center for Structural Sections 'rhis invention concerns a numerical-control (N/a) machining center for machining (punching, drilling,tapping, spot facing and so on) struc-tural members or sections.
~uch machining centers are already known, in particular from Prench patent applica-tion 2~167,575, and comprise a conveyor to support each section, a mo-tor-driven carriage controlled by the ~/C system, a carriage-mou~ted gripper to grip and move the given sectio~ along the X-axis, at least one vise for clamping -the section against motion in the machining station, a stationary frame at said station~ at least one working tool and means guided on the fixed frame and motor--driven, ~nder N/C control, as concerns some of -the means, for positioning and tool feed purposes along angular Y and Z axes located in a plane which is preferably at a right angle to the X-axis.
~.lost commonly, the machining operation involves drilling and, if the section to be drilled is a channel (U-section) or I-beam and the like, drilling can be done perpendicularly to the web and to the two flanges, in other words, from above said section, dormwards, from the right9 leftwards and from the left rightuards.
~or this reason, the known machining centers comprise three machining units impartL~g six motions (three positioning and three cut-ting motions) to three drills. '~hus, the fixed frame is a gantry--type device straddling the conveyor and consistin~ of two columns connected by a crosshead. '~he crosshead is adapted to slidably carry a horizontal carriage driven by a positioning ac~uator, which may be mechanical, electric, hydraulic, pneumatic or other, and a vertical drilling spindle or rotating tool-holder is operable to move rela-tive to said carriage~
drlven by a drilling feed actuator. A vertical slide driven by another positioning actuator (mechanical, electric or other) is adapted to slide between the two columns and a horizontal drilling spindle is operable to move relative to said vertical slide, driven by a drilling feed actuator.
'~he positioning actuators perfor~ a very specific specialized function -- that of moving a slide with a relatively small amount of power over a broad speed range (fast advance~ slow feed ~nd accurate stop).
2~;
~ hese positioning actuators thus possess highly speci~ic characteris-tics in ter~s of both functions and system integra-tion. ~hey are in fact piloted by the machining center~s N/~ control which supplies positioning se-t points in accordance with the set program. Position sensors placed along the slide's path also supply signals indicating the actual position which has been reached. ~he N/C con-troller or com-puter compares the actual position with the set position. ~he numerical control then controls the transmission of the above-mentioned commands -- start, continue rapid approach, start slow approach, ~top and lock --to the appropriate slide, based upon the deviation measured by the com-parison.
~ he drilling feed or feed rate actuators are not; servoed to the N/~ control as are the positioning ac-tua-tors. Instead, they are controlled directly by one or more rotational speed, torque or tnrust detectors and thus do not depend on a program run by the ~/C system.
~his results in less ~lexibility for these actuators and in a certain amount of dead time during tool changes. In ~act the latter actuators fulfill a speciali~ed function which differs greatly from that of the positioning actuators, and which consists in advancing the drill a-t high power and limited speed during machining. ~hey are there~ore de-signed differently in system and functional terms from the positioning actuators.
It is the object of the present invention to simplify the above-described machining center in view o~ both lowering its cost and - 25 increasing its degree of automation to make it completely autonomous once the programs required for a given machining cycle have been loaded.
~o this end the invention provides a machining center ~Iherein the positioning and feed control means consist only of a sin~le mac~in-ing ~mi-t which in a known way, espècially as taught by German patent specification 3,216,566, comprises two cros~ced moving elements, the first being movable in relation to the sta-tionary frame and the second being movable in relation to the ~irst, said second elemen-t - carrying a swivelling tool head with at least one tool. ~oreover, the actuator driving each moving element is a multipurpose actuator designed specifically to be able to advance at low power over R wiae range of
merical-Control ~achining Center for Structural Sections 'rhis invention concerns a numerical-control (N/a) machining center for machining (punching, drilling,tapping, spot facing and so on) struc-tural members or sections.
~uch machining centers are already known, in particular from Prench patent applica-tion 2~167,575, and comprise a conveyor to support each section, a mo-tor-driven carriage controlled by the ~/C system, a carriage-mou~ted gripper to grip and move the given sectio~ along the X-axis, at least one vise for clamping -the section against motion in the machining station, a stationary frame at said station~ at least one working tool and means guided on the fixed frame and motor--driven, ~nder N/C control, as concerns some of -the means, for positioning and tool feed purposes along angular Y and Z axes located in a plane which is preferably at a right angle to the X-axis.
~.lost commonly, the machining operation involves drilling and, if the section to be drilled is a channel (U-section) or I-beam and the like, drilling can be done perpendicularly to the web and to the two flanges, in other words, from above said section, dormwards, from the right9 leftwards and from the left rightuards.
~or this reason, the known machining centers comprise three machining units impartL~g six motions (three positioning and three cut-ting motions) to three drills. '~hus, the fixed frame is a gantry--type device straddling the conveyor and consistin~ of two columns connected by a crosshead. '~he crosshead is adapted to slidably carry a horizontal carriage driven by a positioning ac~uator, which may be mechanical, electric, hydraulic, pneumatic or other, and a vertical drilling spindle or rotating tool-holder is operable to move rela-tive to said carriage~
drlven by a drilling feed actuator. A vertical slide driven by another positioning actuator (mechanical, electric or other) is adapted to slide between the two columns and a horizontal drilling spindle is operable to move relative to said vertical slide, driven by a drilling feed actuator.
'~he positioning actuators perfor~ a very specific specialized function -- that of moving a slide with a relatively small amount of power over a broad speed range (fast advance~ slow feed ~nd accurate stop).
2~;
~ hese positioning actuators thus possess highly speci~ic characteris-tics in ter~s of both functions and system integra-tion. ~hey are in fact piloted by the machining center~s N/~ control which supplies positioning se-t points in accordance with the set program. Position sensors placed along the slide's path also supply signals indicating the actual position which has been reached. ~he N/C con-troller or com-puter compares the actual position with the set position. ~he numerical control then controls the transmission of the above-mentioned commands -- start, continue rapid approach, start slow approach, ~top and lock --to the appropriate slide, based upon the deviation measured by the com-parison.
~ he drilling feed or feed rate actuators are not; servoed to the N/~ control as are the positioning ac-tua-tors. Instead, they are controlled directly by one or more rotational speed, torque or tnrust detectors and thus do not depend on a program run by the ~/C system.
~his results in less ~lexibility for these actuators and in a certain amount of dead time during tool changes. In ~act the latter actuators fulfill a speciali~ed function which differs greatly from that of the positioning actuators, and which consists in advancing the drill a-t high power and limited speed during machining. ~hey are there~ore de-signed differently in system and functional terms from the positioning actuators.
It is the object of the present invention to simplify the above-described machining center in view o~ both lowering its cost and - 25 increasing its degree of automation to make it completely autonomous once the programs required for a given machining cycle have been loaded.
~o this end the invention provides a machining center ~Iherein the positioning and feed control means consist only of a sin~le mac~in-ing ~mi-t which in a known way, espècially as taught by German patent specification 3,216,566, comprises two cros~ced moving elements, the first being movable in relation to the sta-tionary frame and the second being movable in relation to the ~irst, said second elemen-t - carrying a swivelling tool head with at least one tool. ~oreover, the actuator driving each moving element is a multipurpose actuator designed specifically to be able to advance at low power over R wiae range of
- 3 - ~ ~4~5 speeds with great accuracy for positioning purposes and/or advance at high power and limited speed for machining purposes, said actuator for each moving element being therefor controlled by the N/C control in a selective manner in the context of its general program to execute, in particular, positioning-only commands, feedrate-only commands or combined comm~nds, thus enabling this single uni-t machining unit ~ith two tra-versing elements equipped with swivelling heads -to work on at least two angular faces of ~the sectlon by selecting the element to which the posi-tioning commands are addressed and the element to which the feedrate commands are addressed.
As such~ this special combination makes it possible to eli-minate two tool heads and four movements; further~ it enables numerica:L
control of both positioning and machining or feedrate.
According to an especially advantageous embodiment, said first moving element moves along a horizontal axis and said second moving element moves along a ver-tical axis. In addition~ the s~Yivel head can be a turret with four drilling spindles arranged in mutually perpendi-cular pairs, preferably all rotatively driven together.
Por machining operations such as drillings ~hich must be carried out parallel to the traverse axes, the numerical control is organized so tha-t the first and second moving elements can be controlled indifferently such that either one can carry out either the positioning or the feed co~mands.
Por machining on a slant with respect to the movement axes, the numerical con-trol is organized to control at least either one of the t~Yo moving elements for positioning ac-tion as defined on -the basis of the computed starting position of the machining stroke and to control both moving elements for coordinated feed according to the slope o:E the machining stroke~ as required.
~he fact that -the ~/C control operates bo-th moving elemen-ts, whether separa-tely or jointly in cooperation~ opens the machine to fur-ther capabilities simply by variously combining said moving elements and even the swivel head if required.
A first complementary f~mction consistsin determining -the refer-ence surface within the section to be drilled in relation to which the gavge line must be measured by the numerical control. So far, the m~chining center includes a probe, electrical or other, sYnich is fixea relative to the support of one of the hori~ontal drilling spindles. Con-tinuing this assumption, the probe's distance from the flange of the section is cons-tant and at a maximum, since it is determined for the largest machinable section. As long as the section involved is a heavy one, this is not a drawback~ since detection based on a positioning movement is carried out near -the flange-to-web fillet radius. However, in the case of a small section it is a drawback~ for the detection is carried out too far from the flange and may involve an error that will adversely affect tool positioning accuracy. ~o obviate thls disadvan-tage, the probe should be positioned according to the cross section of the steel section during machining. Some machining centers provide this capability, but only through manual adjustin~ means which increase non-cutting time and inter~ere with full automation of the center.
lhe machining center according to the invention makes itpossible to carry out this adjustment fully automatically under nvMerical control. lo this end, the retractable probe is carried by the second moving element, on a swivel arm enabling detection from either the right side or the left side, such that the first moving elemen-t carry~ng said second moving element and controlled by the N/C system to execute the positioning commands brings said probe to the distance from the flanges of the section which is the most suitable for measuring purposes and said second moving element, also under N/C positioning control, brings said probe into contact with the web of the section, at which point the contact dimension is -taken into account by the N/C processor to dete~ne -the ori~in of the measurements subsequently defined by the posi-tioning set points~ after which, the probe is retracted and the two moving elements are nuMerically controlled by positioning and ~achining set points to execute a new ~achining cycle.
A second complementary function consists in detec-ting actual tool length and storing said tool length value automatically under N/C
control.
In the m~chining centers known hereto, the N/C positioning co~mands take -i-lto account actual tool length at each -tool change5 especially for drills. The known way of measuring this length is by using an electric probe fitted to a drilling spindle and manually moving the tool-holder slide to make contact, the -tool length thus measured being s-tored in the N/C positioning controller memory. However, this cycle is not au-tom3tic and involves considerable downtime.
The machining center according to the invention erables full automa-tic, N/C controlled tool length detection, measurement and storage.
The inventive means used for this purpose comprise the probe just men-tioned and the cen-ter N/C control enables orienting the spindle head, moving it in front of the probe by means of the second moving element controlled according to a specially addressed feedrate set point and moving it towards the probe by means of the first moving element controlled according to a specially addressed positioning set point in order to measure im~ediately at the time of contact the difference in stroke length compared with a reference tool or the lack of a tool.
A third complementary function is automatic tool changing capability. Hereto, the tool changer has been a separate, sel~-contained device reguiring to be connected to the center's ~/C control for opera-tion. ~y said third function, the tool changer can be reduced to the tool magazine and to the means for removing and loading the tools in its location. All remaining tool changer means are those of -the center itself and automation is controlled by the center and its N/C control.
The machining center according to the invention comprises a tool magazine the compartments whereof are arranged so that their di-rection of tool storage and their direction of mutual alignment areparallel to the axes of the first and second moving elements, the rota-ting spindle or spindles of the swivel head being equipped with a self-loading chuck with a free-sliding unlocking sleeve and the magazine cooperating with a swivelling locking~unlocking comb actua-ted by means such as a cylinder actuatorS said comb being operable -to push back the sleeve of the selected spindle chuck by coopera-ting wi-th the previously-mentioned moving elements which,under ~T/C control giving them each particular positioning instructions, bring said spindle in front of the selected compartmen-t of the magazine -to deposit therein or pick up therefrom a tool and also move saia spindle towards and away from said comb.
- 6 - ~ ~d~
Various other features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the detailed description which follows.
~ preferred embodiment is illustrated by way of example in the appended drawing in which:
5~igure 1 is a side elevation of a structural section drilling center according to the invention;
~igure 2 is a front elevation, drawn to a larger scale, taken across line II-II of ~igure 1;
~igure 3 is a schema-tic sectional view of the sY~ivelling drill head taken along line III-III of Figure 2;
~ igures 4 through 7 are schematic views similar -to that of ~igure 2 showing the N/C-contro].led positioning and feed movemen-ts of the two moving elements and the swivel head for the respective purposes o~ drilling the left flange, the web and the ri~ht flange of the section parallel to the N/~ axes and drilling at an angle to said axes;
~ igure 8 is a top view taken at.line VIII-VIII of ~igure 2 of the probe which defines the origin of the vertical positionings relative to any given structural section;
~ igures 9A through 9D are schematic views, drawn -to a larger scale, of -the part of ~igure 2 behind line IX-IX of that ~igure sum~ar-izing the steps in a tool change;
~ igure 10 is a top view on a smaller scale, taken at line X-X of ~igure 9, showing the tool changer comb which effects the locking and.unlocking of a tool in relation to the drill spindle which has been brought in front of the selected compartment of the maga~.ine by the numerical control;
and Figure 11 is a section through a drill chuck type operable - to cooperate wi-th the above-mentioned comb~ said chuck being sho~n in unlocked and locked positions respectively in the top and bottom hal~`
sectiolls of the figure.
~ he drilling center represented in the drawing comprises a freewheeling roller conveyor 1 ~esigned to support each steel section 2 to be drilled. ~he section is movable in -the directions of its longitu-dinal axis, hereinafter designated the X-axis, by means of a motor-driven carriage 3 carrying a gripper 4 designed to securely grip the - 7 - ~ 5 end of said section to transmit movement thereto without slip. Carriage 3 is driven by a motor acting through a rack and pinion aevice which also provides an accurate measurement of positions. Said motor is controlled by the center's ~r/c system which stores X-axis positioning se-t poin-ts.
In other words, the center comprises a n~lmerical X-axis thanks -to which the sec-tion 2 can be positioned with high accuracy in front of a drill 5.i located in a arilling station 6 through ~Irhich said section moves.
The drilling station 6 comprises a stationary frame 7 basic-ally consisting of a cross head 8 spanning a conveyor 1 orthogonally to its axis X. In the embodiment illustrated~ the crosshead is supported by -two columns 9, 10 with boxes, standing to either side of the conveyor and of a vise 11. The vise has a fixed jaw 12 and a movable jaw 13 for clamping controlled by the N/C system in relation with -the X-axis. The jaws are V-shaped to allo~r passage of the moving gear carrying the drills 5 and to each grip the section 2 on both sides of the moving gear.
The crosshead 8 carries a slideway with two rails 14, 15 which, in the illustrated example, are rol~d bars. The rails provide guidance in translation along the transverse axis, hereinafter termed the Y-axis, of a carriage 16 which is equipped for this purpose with bearings 1~a7 15a of the circulating ball type or other known type. Carriage 16 is driven by a motor 17 which drives a pinion gear 18 cooperating ~ith a rack 19 attached to the crosshead 8, said drive or actuator 17 through 19 also providing precise position measurements. Motor 17 is con-trolled by the overall N/C control which has in storage Y-axis-positioning set points and feedrate set points for the same axis. Thus the cen-ter has a ~umerical Y-axis which is not specialized but ra-ther is multifunctional, since it can execute~ as part of the main N/C program, either positioning-only instruct-lons~ or feed-only instructions, or other particular instructions described subsequently herein, for example to determine the origin of measurements of any given section~ to measure the tool length of the drill being used, to change drills, and so on. According-ly~ motor 17 possesses universal characteristics combininb~ power and accuracy~ a very wide speed range and great flexibility of operation,etcO
Carriage 16 carries a slideway 20 ~or guiding in tranl~tion along the vertlcal or Z_~xis a slide 21. Slide 21 is driven by a - 8 - ~2~25 motor 22 driving a pinion 23 whick cooperates with a rack 24 attached to the carriage 16. ~he slide 21 motor 22 features the same universal characteristics as -the motor 17 o:E carriage 16. In addition, -the drive 22 through 24 or actuator is controlled by a numerical axis Z acting under main N/C program control to execute Z-axis positioning set points or tool feed set points or other particular instructions as mentioned in the foregoing.
Carriage 16 and slide 21 thus constitute two mutually crossed moving elements whose mo-tions are controlled by the numerical Y and Z
axes selectively carrying out the previously-mentioned positioning and tool feed instruc-tions. ~he main program mobiliæes these n~erical axes to ob-tain the operating sequences described hereinafter.
Finally~ slide 21 carries a swivelling drill head 25 which, in the example under consideretion, is equipped with four drilling spindles 26.1 to 26.4 extending radially and perpendicularly to one another. ~aid spindles are equipped with chucks 27 (Figure 11) for chucking drills 5.1 to 5.4. ~hey are rotatively driven synchronously together by means, for example, of a common, driving crown gear 28 permanently meshed with bevel gears 29 journaled on the spindles (Figure 3); said CrO~Yn is coupled to a variable speed drive apparatus 30 mounted on slide 21.
~s a further feature, the spindle head gearbox 31 is rotative-ly mounted relative to slide 21 by means of a cylindrical bearing surface 32 concentric with the shaft 33 of the driving crown gear 28. Orienta-tion of gearbox 31 to present the selected drill 5i as required to drill section 2 is controlled by a sprocket wheel 34 connected by a chain 35 to a pinion 36 coupled to a motor 37. ~his device as a ~Yhole is also an actuator and the power supplying of motor 37 is controlled by the main N/C program which also deter~ines the rotational speed of drive 30 among other devices. lhe N/C con-trol cooperates with position sensors 38 disposed facing tracks 39 on sprocket wheel 34, which enable tne actual angular position of head 25 to be determined. A locking device, not shown, locks said head when said angular posi~tion is -the same as that given in the main program.
lhus~ the machining center comprises only the following: a horlzorltal carriage 16 movable in translation along the Y axls, a vertical slide 21 movable in translation along the Z-axis and a swivel-ling spindle head 25. ~he numerical control system con-trols all three of these ~otions, as will IIO~Y be described with reference to ~igures 4 through 7, keeping in mind that each of the numerical axes Y and Z can equally follow particular positioning, feedrate or o-ther instructions as part of the overall cycle program.
In the example illustrated in ~igures 4 through 6, the ~ob consists in drilling holes in an I-beam sec-tion 2 with two fL~nges, ie.
a righthand flange 2d and a lefthand ~lange 2g, whose cen-ters are joined by a web 2m, said holes -to be drilled by the moving assembly consisting of elements 16, 21 and 25 alone. The drilling operation will be des-cribed only in terms of drill 26.1, such -that only a single hole di~meter is involved.
Under main program control, carriage 16 moves to a position to the left of the section 2 to being drilling the left flange 2g of said section (~igure 4). Spindle head 25 swivels to the reauired orientation to direct drill 5.1 to the right in a horizontal plane. Slide 21, in keeping with positionirg instructions P on N/C axis Z~ moves do~m~ or up in search of the drilling height and locks on reaching the exact set level. ~herea~ter, carriage 16, following the drilling feedrate program instructions ~ for the Y-axis~ moves toward the right with its drill 5.1 rotating at the required speed, as dete~mined by -the main program in-structions which selected it in the first place. On completion of the hole, carriage 16 moves back to the point where drill 5.1 has cleared Z5 the workpiece. If the machining program defined by the X-axis does not call for ~urther drilling in this location, the cycle continues and pro-ceeds with locating the nex-t drill poin-t in the right flange 2d.
Slide 21 continues its upward stroke and carriage 16 resumes its traverse to the right under ~ain program con-trol so that drill head 25 clears the section 2. As shown in ~igure 6, head 25 is swivelled, - with all drills 5 rotating, so that drill 5.1 comes to be horizontally directed -to the left. Slide 21, responding to the Z-axis posi-tioning instructions P,moves down or up until it reaches the drilling level through rapid positioning advance and slow, precision positioning, then stops. Carriage 16, responding to the Y-axis drilling feedrate in-f~2~
~ 10 -StrUCtiOnS~ traverses to the lef-t as its drill 5.1 rotating at the re~uired speed as determined by the main pro~ram instruc-tions which selected it in the first place. On completion of the hole, carriage 16 moves back to the point where drill 5.1 has cleared the workpiece and if no further drilling is required for the time being in the X-plane, the moving assembly 16, 21, 25 becomes available for ano-ther cycle carried out in another transverse plane following unclamping of -the drilled sec-tion 2 by vise 11, displacement of said section 2 by numer-ical axis X and reclamping.
In the cyc1e just described, spindle head 25 operates with only one drill (5.1) things proceed as though said head had only a single drilling spindle which can be swivelled in 90 steps to point the drill in any of the three previously stated directions: to the right, down7 and to the left.
In the embodiment shown however~ the head ir-~cludes four spindles 26.1 to 26.~ able to hold four different drills 5.1 to 5.4.
Accordingly, head swivelling in going from one drilling step to the next (~igs. 4-5 or 5-6) takes into account not only -the new orientation of the drill,b~t also the orien-tation during the step just completed of the drill selected for the next step. ~he syecific direction of swivel-ing in each case is controlled by the main program.
Continuing the operating description for the illustrated embodiment, head 25 swivels in 90 steps, given that the carriage 16 and the slide 21 are m~ltually perpendicular. However, if said t~70 moving elements 16 and 21 cross at any other angle, the control of the head is servoed to said angle so that the selected drill 5 will be directed~after swivelling, at a right angle -to the drilling surface.
In fact, in general, irrespective of the crossing angle of the moving elements 16 and 21, i-t is possible to drill at a slant; for example and as ~igure 7 shows, it is possible to drill perpendicularly into the oblique flange 2i of a V-section. In this case, the ~/C pro-cessor would aetermine the point A at which the swivel axis of the spindle head 25 must be positioned so that the selected drill 5.1, ad-vancing in its axial direction a~ter the said head nas been orien-ted according to the angle "a"~ which is the angle of flange 2i of the section, will drill said flange at the designated poin-t in the plane.
~he prOCeSSOr having determined the ~o and Zo coordinates of this point A in relation to the reference planes of -the conveyor 1, the numerical Y-axis traverses carriage 16 to accurate coincidence with dimension Yo and the numerical Z-axis moves slide 21 to coincidence with dimension Zo. The Y and Z numerical axes act in response to the positioning in-structions Py and Pz from the processor.
It is now necessary, the head 25 being orien-ted to angle "a"~
for the numerical Y and Z axes to control the carriage 16 and the slide 21 to advance in a coordinated manner following the rule ~ = tga = - .
~ Vy Said numerical Y and Z axes have obeyed the feedrate comm~nds Ty and Tz defined by the processor and the associated advances are continuously monitored by the Y and Z position sensors taking measurements at the shortest possible regular intervals. Said intervals may ~or example be on the order of every 1/100th mm and the advances can be corrected at the same frequency.
The drilling center can also carry out additional ~unctions involving its moving elements 16, 21 and its spindle head 25 in con-junction with the numerical Y and Z axes, mainly, .Yhich control them (with the numerical control system also being involved thlough its main program set points).
Three such additional functions or capabilities will now be described by way of non-limiting examples with reference to ~igures 2 and 8; 2; 2, 9~ to 9D~ 10 and 11 respectively.
~ first complementary capibility consists in determining the location in the section 2 to be drilled of the reference plane 40 (~ig. 2) with respect to which the drill holes are dimensionally located and are to be measured by the numerical Z-axis. The distance from -the riding plane 41 of the conveyor 1 to said reference plane 40 depends on the shape of the section 2 whose s-tandard dimensions have been memori~ed.
~ut due to the fact that the section is not perfectly stralgh-t and -that the holes must be drilled with a high accuracy, it is conventional in drilling centers to detect the top surface 42 of the web 2m and sub-tract fro~ its height dimension half the thickness of the web to obtain the origin of` the measurements to be stored in the memo~y for the numerical.
Z-axis.
, . , . ~ . , - 12 - ~ S
~ he drilling cen-ter thus has a probe 43 which is preferably an electrical -type and retrac-table into a housing 44~ this retracted position being represented in solid lines and the ex-tended position in broken lines in Figure 2. In accordance wi-th -the invention, the housinO
44 is carried at the end of a swivel arm 45 ~hose other end is fitted to a shaft 46 (Fig. 8) rotatable with respect to ver-tical slide 21. Said arm 45 is operable to be located in either of -two positions on an alignment parallel to the machine crosshead 8. In one of the positions, outlined with a solid line in Figs. 2 and 8, -the arm 45 is moved to the right such that the probe 43 operates as close as posslble to the left flange 2g of the sec-tion when the moving assembly in configrured as in Figure 4, whereas in -the opposite position incipielltly drawn in bro~en lines in Figure 89 the arm 45 is moved to -the left so that the probe 43 wi~l operate as close as possible to the section's right flange 2d when said moving assembly is configured as in ~igure 6. An actuator is pro-vided, consisting of a motor 47 whose output shaft is coupled to a pinion 4~ connected via a chain 49 to another pinion 50 journaled to the shaft 46 of arm 45, to drive the arm 45 between its two positions.
Assuming that holes are to be drllled in the le~t flar.ge 2g of the section, the probe vtill move to take dimensions in the follorring way: the main N/C program brings about the positioning o~ arm 45 as per Figures 2 and 8; these same program instructions, knowing the cross section of the member 2 to be drilled have in store the distance between the probe 43 and the fixed, reference jaw 12 of the vise '11 so that -the probe can operate as close as possible to the fillet joining the left flange 2g to web 2m. As soon as this distance is knwon9 numerical axis Y is notified by meRns of particular positioning set points enabling the carriage 16 to be traversed un-til said probe 43 has reached the selected posi-tion. lhereafter, similarly "particular" positioning instructions are sent -to the numerical Z-axis to lower slide 21. Probe 43 being extended for operation, sends a signal to -the N/~ processor as soon as the probe makes contact with the top surface 42 of the web 2m~ so that the processor can determine -the origin of the measurements to be made during the drilling phase, illustra-ted by ~ig. 4. Said ori-gin having been placed in storage, the probe 43 is retracted and themoving assembly 16~ 21, 25 operates as described in the foregoing with - 13 - ~ 5 reference to ~ig. 4. To carry out the drilling step represented in ~ig. 6, the sa~e detection of the origin or gauge line for measurements is carried ou-t near the right flange 2d~ but the arm 45 in this case extends in the opposite direction as shown with broken lines in ~ig. 8.
A second complementary capability consists in detecting the actual length of a drill and storing the tool length value automatical-ly under ~/C control. ~or this purpose, 3s can be seen from Pigure 2, a probe 51, preferably electrical in nature, is slidably mounted on a damper in a housing 52 which is ~qecured by means of a supporting member 52a at the end of crosshead ~. Said probe 51 is adapted to move parallel to the crosshead. A speci~ic main program instruction can now bring about the orientation of spindle head 25 so that the drill -to be measured extends horizontally to the right 3nd the N/C memory is cRlled upon to take into account -the subsequent measurements concerning said drill.
~o earry out this measurement of tool length funetion, a "particular"
or dedicated feedrate instruetion is given -to the numerical Z-axis and causes slide 21 to slide vertically until said selected drill reaches th0 level of probe 51. Pinally, a particular or dedicated positioning instruction is sent to the numerical Y-axis -to traverse carriage 16 to - 20 the right and downeounts its movement, for example based upon an origin associated with the absence of a tool in -the spindle or with a reference drill in said spindle. The measurement taken when probe 51 sends its contact signal in this case eorresponds to the effective length of the drill. This length value is taken into account by the ~T/C memory in determining the positioning strokes for the machining phases as per ! Pigures 4 through 7.
A third complementary capability is automatie tool changing.
In keeping with the invention~ the tool changer is simplified by using as driving means the moving assembly 16, 21, 25 of the machining eenter together with its assoeiated numerical control.
~ he tool ehanger eomprises a magazine 5~ (~igs. 2 and 9A-9~) designed to reCeiYe drills 5 or other tools with tapered, eylindrieal shanks 54 with an intermediate flange (~ig. 11) 55. Magazine 53 is a horizontal plate fast ~ith a vertieal mounting bend 56. Said plate is provided with holes 57 into whieh the drills 5 are norm~lly deposited 14 ~L;~
to rest therein,shank-up by their mid-length flanges 55 on said pla-te.
Holes 57 thus constitute tool storage compartments having a vertical axls parallel -to ~I/C axis Z and being arranged in a row parallel to the Y-axis.
Magazinc 53 is designed to be served by the center's moving assembly 16, 21 3 25 whose chucks 27 on rotating spindles 26.1 to 26.4 of head 25 are automatic locking/unlocking types no-t requiring spindle rotation to stop for ope~tion. A chuck of this type is sho~m in greater detail and by ~Yay of example in ~igure 11. It comprises a 10 hollow body 58, providing a recess 59 accommodating the shank 54 of a drill 5. A control sleeve 61 is fitted freely in both rotation and translation around body 58 by means of a ball bearing 60. Said slceve 61 h~s a cylindrical bore 62 and a divergent conical bore 63 ~o~ning two bearings to actua-te two ball rings 64 and 65~ which are captive but 15 have some radial play in body 58. ~'ihen said control sleeve 6l is in locked position (bottom half of ~igure 11), said balls 64 and 65 are pushed back towards the center by bearing surfaces 62 and 63 and sink into dimples 66 and 67 in the shank 54, thus coupling the latter to chuck body 58. ~onversely, when said sleeve 61 is in unlocked position 20 (top half of the figure) balls 64 and 65 are applied by centriPugal force and possibly by elastic means against conical bearing surface 63, thus escapin~ Erom dimples 66, 67 and breaking the above-mentioned coupling. 'rO change from locked to unlocked confi~ation, only requires sliding the sleeve 61 axially in the direction of arrow ~, while locking 25 is accomplished by slidin~ said sleeve in the o~posite direction. ~he sliding action can be imparted to the sleeve 61 thanks to the circular boss 68 thereon.
Tool changer magazine 5~ cooperates with a reciprocating comb 69 (~ig. 10) whose -teeth 70 are separated by cutouts 71. To u~lock a 30 drill 5, sleeve 61 must be inser-ted into the selected cutou-t 71 and the ad~acent tee-th 70 of said cutout must be applied to the boss 68 on said sleeve to l~3ise the latter uhilst the chuck body 58 continues to rotate at a constant level. 'rhe comb 69 is swivelably moun-ted on shafts72 in its middle portion, ca.rried by fixed bearings 73. Said 35 bearings are arranged so that the cutouts in the comb are always located ~2~ 5 in front of the holes or compartments 57 in the magazine. The back of the comb opposite the teeth is connected to an actuating means such as a cylinder 74, the sliding elemen-ts whereof -- cylinder and piston rod --are articulated by a spindle 75 on the back of the comb and by a spindle 76 on the fixed frame ~igures 2, 9A-9D and 10). Actuating means 74 swivels the comb 69 so that it is ei-ther inclined upwards (~igs. 9~, 9C) or dow~Yards (Figs. 9A, 9D~ with respect to the tool holder plate.
An automatic tool cnanging operation will no.w be described ~ --with reference to Figures 9A through 9D, in which the chuck 27, the tool lQ 5, the magazine 53 and the comb 69 are drawn highly schematically for greater clari-ty of the individual steps. ~or instance, the tool flange 55 and the sleeve flange or boss 68 are omitted from the drawing although they are referred to describing this tool changing oycle.
~he particular tool changing instructions of the main ~/~
program select the drill to be changed 5c and the hole or compartment 57c of the magazine in which said drill must be dropped~ Said particular instructions or set points call upon the swivelling spindle head 25 to place the spindle 26 of drill 5c in a vertical, downward position and also call upon the comb 69 to place it down-inclined position (Fig. 9A).
The same particular instructions are transfered to the numerical Y and Z
axes to traverse carriage 16 -to the point wnere drill 5c is facing hole 57c and to move slide 21 to the point where said drill 5c is engaged in x said hole 57c; in the latter position, the circular fla~ge 68 of the chuck sleeve 61 Oll chuck 27c comes close to comb 69.
~he particular instructions actuate comb 69 to swivel to its raised posi-tion (~ig. 9~). Slide 21 being i~mobilzed, sleeve 61 rises and chuck 27c releases drill 5c.
~he particular instrllctions again activate numerical a2es Y
and Z to raise slide 21 and carriage 16 advances to hole 57m containing the new tool -to be chucked 5m; then slide 21 comes do~m.
The flange 68 of chuck 27c sleeve 61 meets with the comb 69 in raised position (Fig. 9c) and lowering of slide 21 and thus of -the chuck body 58 relative to the f-ixed flange continues until unlocking is accomplished; in this position, body 58 hugs the tapered shanX 54 of the new tool 5m to be chucked.
.
.. ,~ .
~2~ $
~ he particular instructions then call upon the comb 69 to swivel to lowered position (~ig. gD). Sleeve 61 slides down and locks the chuck 27c on tool 5m.
Numerical axes Y and Z are once more controlled by particular instructions to raise the slide 21 and traverse carriage 16 back towards -the structural section 2.
~ he invention is no-t limited to the specifie embodiment which has been illustrated and described in detail herein, as various modifi-cations can be expeeted to oceur to persons skilled in the art without leaving the seope of the invention. Most notably, machining operations other than drilling ean be easily aecommodated b~ the lnvention.
As such~ this special combination makes it possible to eli-minate two tool heads and four movements; further~ it enables numerica:L
control of both positioning and machining or feedrate.
According to an especially advantageous embodiment, said first moving element moves along a horizontal axis and said second moving element moves along a ver-tical axis. In addition~ the s~Yivel head can be a turret with four drilling spindles arranged in mutually perpendi-cular pairs, preferably all rotatively driven together.
Por machining operations such as drillings ~hich must be carried out parallel to the traverse axes, the numerical control is organized so tha-t the first and second moving elements can be controlled indifferently such that either one can carry out either the positioning or the feed co~mands.
Por machining on a slant with respect to the movement axes, the numerical con-trol is organized to control at least either one of the t~Yo moving elements for positioning ac-tion as defined on -the basis of the computed starting position of the machining stroke and to control both moving elements for coordinated feed according to the slope o:E the machining stroke~ as required.
~he fact that -the ~/C control operates bo-th moving elemen-ts, whether separa-tely or jointly in cooperation~ opens the machine to fur-ther capabilities simply by variously combining said moving elements and even the swivel head if required.
A first complementary f~mction consistsin determining -the refer-ence surface within the section to be drilled in relation to which the gavge line must be measured by the numerical control. So far, the m~chining center includes a probe, electrical or other, sYnich is fixea relative to the support of one of the hori~ontal drilling spindles. Con-tinuing this assumption, the probe's distance from the flange of the section is cons-tant and at a maximum, since it is determined for the largest machinable section. As long as the section involved is a heavy one, this is not a drawback~ since detection based on a positioning movement is carried out near -the flange-to-web fillet radius. However, in the case of a small section it is a drawback~ for the detection is carried out too far from the flange and may involve an error that will adversely affect tool positioning accuracy. ~o obviate thls disadvan-tage, the probe should be positioned according to the cross section of the steel section during machining. Some machining centers provide this capability, but only through manual adjustin~ means which increase non-cutting time and inter~ere with full automation of the center.
lhe machining center according to the invention makes itpossible to carry out this adjustment fully automatically under nvMerical control. lo this end, the retractable probe is carried by the second moving element, on a swivel arm enabling detection from either the right side or the left side, such that the first moving elemen-t carry~ng said second moving element and controlled by the N/C system to execute the positioning commands brings said probe to the distance from the flanges of the section which is the most suitable for measuring purposes and said second moving element, also under N/C positioning control, brings said probe into contact with the web of the section, at which point the contact dimension is -taken into account by the N/C processor to dete~ne -the ori~in of the measurements subsequently defined by the posi-tioning set points~ after which, the probe is retracted and the two moving elements are nuMerically controlled by positioning and ~achining set points to execute a new ~achining cycle.
A second complementary function consists in detec-ting actual tool length and storing said tool length value automatically under N/C
control.
In the m~chining centers known hereto, the N/C positioning co~mands take -i-lto account actual tool length at each -tool change5 especially for drills. The known way of measuring this length is by using an electric probe fitted to a drilling spindle and manually moving the tool-holder slide to make contact, the -tool length thus measured being s-tored in the N/C positioning controller memory. However, this cycle is not au-tom3tic and involves considerable downtime.
The machining center according to the invention erables full automa-tic, N/C controlled tool length detection, measurement and storage.
The inventive means used for this purpose comprise the probe just men-tioned and the cen-ter N/C control enables orienting the spindle head, moving it in front of the probe by means of the second moving element controlled according to a specially addressed feedrate set point and moving it towards the probe by means of the first moving element controlled according to a specially addressed positioning set point in order to measure im~ediately at the time of contact the difference in stroke length compared with a reference tool or the lack of a tool.
A third complementary function is automatic tool changing capability. Hereto, the tool changer has been a separate, sel~-contained device reguiring to be connected to the center's ~/C control for opera-tion. ~y said third function, the tool changer can be reduced to the tool magazine and to the means for removing and loading the tools in its location. All remaining tool changer means are those of -the center itself and automation is controlled by the center and its N/C control.
The machining center according to the invention comprises a tool magazine the compartments whereof are arranged so that their di-rection of tool storage and their direction of mutual alignment areparallel to the axes of the first and second moving elements, the rota-ting spindle or spindles of the swivel head being equipped with a self-loading chuck with a free-sliding unlocking sleeve and the magazine cooperating with a swivelling locking~unlocking comb actua-ted by means such as a cylinder actuatorS said comb being operable -to push back the sleeve of the selected spindle chuck by coopera-ting wi-th the previously-mentioned moving elements which,under ~T/C control giving them each particular positioning instructions, bring said spindle in front of the selected compartmen-t of the magazine -to deposit therein or pick up therefrom a tool and also move saia spindle towards and away from said comb.
- 6 - ~ ~d~
Various other features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the detailed description which follows.
~ preferred embodiment is illustrated by way of example in the appended drawing in which:
5~igure 1 is a side elevation of a structural section drilling center according to the invention;
~igure 2 is a front elevation, drawn to a larger scale, taken across line II-II of ~igure 1;
~igure 3 is a schema-tic sectional view of the sY~ivelling drill head taken along line III-III of Figure 2;
~ igures 4 through 7 are schematic views similar -to that of ~igure 2 showing the N/C-contro].led positioning and feed movemen-ts of the two moving elements and the swivel head for the respective purposes o~ drilling the left flange, the web and the ri~ht flange of the section parallel to the N/~ axes and drilling at an angle to said axes;
~ igure 8 is a top view taken at.line VIII-VIII of ~igure 2 of the probe which defines the origin of the vertical positionings relative to any given structural section;
~ igures 9A through 9D are schematic views, drawn -to a larger scale, of -the part of ~igure 2 behind line IX-IX of that ~igure sum~ar-izing the steps in a tool change;
~ igure 10 is a top view on a smaller scale, taken at line X-X of ~igure 9, showing the tool changer comb which effects the locking and.unlocking of a tool in relation to the drill spindle which has been brought in front of the selected compartment of the maga~.ine by the numerical control;
and Figure 11 is a section through a drill chuck type operable - to cooperate wi-th the above-mentioned comb~ said chuck being sho~n in unlocked and locked positions respectively in the top and bottom hal~`
sectiolls of the figure.
~ he drilling center represented in the drawing comprises a freewheeling roller conveyor 1 ~esigned to support each steel section 2 to be drilled. ~he section is movable in -the directions of its longitu-dinal axis, hereinafter designated the X-axis, by means of a motor-driven carriage 3 carrying a gripper 4 designed to securely grip the - 7 - ~ 5 end of said section to transmit movement thereto without slip. Carriage 3 is driven by a motor acting through a rack and pinion aevice which also provides an accurate measurement of positions. Said motor is controlled by the center's ~r/c system which stores X-axis positioning se-t poin-ts.
In other words, the center comprises a n~lmerical X-axis thanks -to which the sec-tion 2 can be positioned with high accuracy in front of a drill 5.i located in a arilling station 6 through ~Irhich said section moves.
The drilling station 6 comprises a stationary frame 7 basic-ally consisting of a cross head 8 spanning a conveyor 1 orthogonally to its axis X. In the embodiment illustrated~ the crosshead is supported by -two columns 9, 10 with boxes, standing to either side of the conveyor and of a vise 11. The vise has a fixed jaw 12 and a movable jaw 13 for clamping controlled by the N/C system in relation with -the X-axis. The jaws are V-shaped to allo~r passage of the moving gear carrying the drills 5 and to each grip the section 2 on both sides of the moving gear.
The crosshead 8 carries a slideway with two rails 14, 15 which, in the illustrated example, are rol~d bars. The rails provide guidance in translation along the transverse axis, hereinafter termed the Y-axis, of a carriage 16 which is equipped for this purpose with bearings 1~a7 15a of the circulating ball type or other known type. Carriage 16 is driven by a motor 17 which drives a pinion gear 18 cooperating ~ith a rack 19 attached to the crosshead 8, said drive or actuator 17 through 19 also providing precise position measurements. Motor 17 is con-trolled by the overall N/C control which has in storage Y-axis-positioning set points and feedrate set points for the same axis. Thus the cen-ter has a ~umerical Y-axis which is not specialized but ra-ther is multifunctional, since it can execute~ as part of the main N/C program, either positioning-only instruct-lons~ or feed-only instructions, or other particular instructions described subsequently herein, for example to determine the origin of measurements of any given section~ to measure the tool length of the drill being used, to change drills, and so on. According-ly~ motor 17 possesses universal characteristics combininb~ power and accuracy~ a very wide speed range and great flexibility of operation,etcO
Carriage 16 carries a slideway 20 ~or guiding in tranl~tion along the vertlcal or Z_~xis a slide 21. Slide 21 is driven by a - 8 - ~2~25 motor 22 driving a pinion 23 whick cooperates with a rack 24 attached to the carriage 16. ~he slide 21 motor 22 features the same universal characteristics as -the motor 17 o:E carriage 16. In addition, -the drive 22 through 24 or actuator is controlled by a numerical axis Z acting under main N/C program control to execute Z-axis positioning set points or tool feed set points or other particular instructions as mentioned in the foregoing.
Carriage 16 and slide 21 thus constitute two mutually crossed moving elements whose mo-tions are controlled by the numerical Y and Z
axes selectively carrying out the previously-mentioned positioning and tool feed instruc-tions. ~he main program mobiliæes these n~erical axes to ob-tain the operating sequences described hereinafter.
Finally~ slide 21 carries a swivelling drill head 25 which, in the example under consideretion, is equipped with four drilling spindles 26.1 to 26.4 extending radially and perpendicularly to one another. ~aid spindles are equipped with chucks 27 (Figure 11) for chucking drills 5.1 to 5.4. ~hey are rotatively driven synchronously together by means, for example, of a common, driving crown gear 28 permanently meshed with bevel gears 29 journaled on the spindles (Figure 3); said CrO~Yn is coupled to a variable speed drive apparatus 30 mounted on slide 21.
~s a further feature, the spindle head gearbox 31 is rotative-ly mounted relative to slide 21 by means of a cylindrical bearing surface 32 concentric with the shaft 33 of the driving crown gear 28. Orienta-tion of gearbox 31 to present the selected drill 5i as required to drill section 2 is controlled by a sprocket wheel 34 connected by a chain 35 to a pinion 36 coupled to a motor 37. ~his device as a ~Yhole is also an actuator and the power supplying of motor 37 is controlled by the main N/C program which also deter~ines the rotational speed of drive 30 among other devices. lhe N/C con-trol cooperates with position sensors 38 disposed facing tracks 39 on sprocket wheel 34, which enable tne actual angular position of head 25 to be determined. A locking device, not shown, locks said head when said angular posi~tion is -the same as that given in the main program.
lhus~ the machining center comprises only the following: a horlzorltal carriage 16 movable in translation along the Y axls, a vertical slide 21 movable in translation along the Z-axis and a swivel-ling spindle head 25. ~he numerical control system con-trols all three of these ~otions, as will IIO~Y be described with reference to ~igures 4 through 7, keeping in mind that each of the numerical axes Y and Z can equally follow particular positioning, feedrate or o-ther instructions as part of the overall cycle program.
In the example illustrated in ~igures 4 through 6, the ~ob consists in drilling holes in an I-beam sec-tion 2 with two fL~nges, ie.
a righthand flange 2d and a lefthand ~lange 2g, whose cen-ters are joined by a web 2m, said holes -to be drilled by the moving assembly consisting of elements 16, 21 and 25 alone. The drilling operation will be des-cribed only in terms of drill 26.1, such -that only a single hole di~meter is involved.
Under main program control, carriage 16 moves to a position to the left of the section 2 to being drilling the left flange 2g of said section (~igure 4). Spindle head 25 swivels to the reauired orientation to direct drill 5.1 to the right in a horizontal plane. Slide 21, in keeping with positionirg instructions P on N/C axis Z~ moves do~m~ or up in search of the drilling height and locks on reaching the exact set level. ~herea~ter, carriage 16, following the drilling feedrate program instructions ~ for the Y-axis~ moves toward the right with its drill 5.1 rotating at the required speed, as dete~mined by -the main program in-structions which selected it in the first place. On completion of the hole, carriage 16 moves back to the point where drill 5.1 has cleared Z5 the workpiece. If the machining program defined by the X-axis does not call for ~urther drilling in this location, the cycle continues and pro-ceeds with locating the nex-t drill poin-t in the right flange 2d.
Slide 21 continues its upward stroke and carriage 16 resumes its traverse to the right under ~ain program con-trol so that drill head 25 clears the section 2. As shown in ~igure 6, head 25 is swivelled, - with all drills 5 rotating, so that drill 5.1 comes to be horizontally directed -to the left. Slide 21, responding to the Z-axis posi-tioning instructions P,moves down or up until it reaches the drilling level through rapid positioning advance and slow, precision positioning, then stops. Carriage 16, responding to the Y-axis drilling feedrate in-f~2~
~ 10 -StrUCtiOnS~ traverses to the lef-t as its drill 5.1 rotating at the re~uired speed as determined by the main pro~ram instruc-tions which selected it in the first place. On completion of the hole, carriage 16 moves back to the point where drill 5.1 has cleared the workpiece and if no further drilling is required for the time being in the X-plane, the moving assembly 16, 21, 25 becomes available for ano-ther cycle carried out in another transverse plane following unclamping of -the drilled sec-tion 2 by vise 11, displacement of said section 2 by numer-ical axis X and reclamping.
In the cyc1e just described, spindle head 25 operates with only one drill (5.1) things proceed as though said head had only a single drilling spindle which can be swivelled in 90 steps to point the drill in any of the three previously stated directions: to the right, down7 and to the left.
In the embodiment shown however~ the head ir-~cludes four spindles 26.1 to 26.~ able to hold four different drills 5.1 to 5.4.
Accordingly, head swivelling in going from one drilling step to the next (~igs. 4-5 or 5-6) takes into account not only -the new orientation of the drill,b~t also the orien-tation during the step just completed of the drill selected for the next step. ~he syecific direction of swivel-ing in each case is controlled by the main program.
Continuing the operating description for the illustrated embodiment, head 25 swivels in 90 steps, given that the carriage 16 and the slide 21 are m~ltually perpendicular. However, if said t~70 moving elements 16 and 21 cross at any other angle, the control of the head is servoed to said angle so that the selected drill 5 will be directed~after swivelling, at a right angle -to the drilling surface.
In fact, in general, irrespective of the crossing angle of the moving elements 16 and 21, i-t is possible to drill at a slant; for example and as ~igure 7 shows, it is possible to drill perpendicularly into the oblique flange 2i of a V-section. In this case, the ~/C pro-cessor would aetermine the point A at which the swivel axis of the spindle head 25 must be positioned so that the selected drill 5.1, ad-vancing in its axial direction a~ter the said head nas been orien-ted according to the angle "a"~ which is the angle of flange 2i of the section, will drill said flange at the designated poin-t in the plane.
~he prOCeSSOr having determined the ~o and Zo coordinates of this point A in relation to the reference planes of -the conveyor 1, the numerical Y-axis traverses carriage 16 to accurate coincidence with dimension Yo and the numerical Z-axis moves slide 21 to coincidence with dimension Zo. The Y and Z numerical axes act in response to the positioning in-structions Py and Pz from the processor.
It is now necessary, the head 25 being orien-ted to angle "a"~
for the numerical Y and Z axes to control the carriage 16 and the slide 21 to advance in a coordinated manner following the rule ~ = tga = - .
~ Vy Said numerical Y and Z axes have obeyed the feedrate comm~nds Ty and Tz defined by the processor and the associated advances are continuously monitored by the Y and Z position sensors taking measurements at the shortest possible regular intervals. Said intervals may ~or example be on the order of every 1/100th mm and the advances can be corrected at the same frequency.
The drilling center can also carry out additional ~unctions involving its moving elements 16, 21 and its spindle head 25 in con-junction with the numerical Y and Z axes, mainly, .Yhich control them (with the numerical control system also being involved thlough its main program set points).
Three such additional functions or capabilities will now be described by way of non-limiting examples with reference to ~igures 2 and 8; 2; 2, 9~ to 9D~ 10 and 11 respectively.
~ first complementary capibility consists in determining the location in the section 2 to be drilled of the reference plane 40 (~ig. 2) with respect to which the drill holes are dimensionally located and are to be measured by the numerical Z-axis. The distance from -the riding plane 41 of the conveyor 1 to said reference plane 40 depends on the shape of the section 2 whose s-tandard dimensions have been memori~ed.
~ut due to the fact that the section is not perfectly stralgh-t and -that the holes must be drilled with a high accuracy, it is conventional in drilling centers to detect the top surface 42 of the web 2m and sub-tract fro~ its height dimension half the thickness of the web to obtain the origin of` the measurements to be stored in the memo~y for the numerical.
Z-axis.
, . , . ~ . , - 12 - ~ S
~ he drilling cen-ter thus has a probe 43 which is preferably an electrical -type and retrac-table into a housing 44~ this retracted position being represented in solid lines and the ex-tended position in broken lines in Figure 2. In accordance wi-th -the invention, the housinO
44 is carried at the end of a swivel arm 45 ~hose other end is fitted to a shaft 46 (Fig. 8) rotatable with respect to ver-tical slide 21. Said arm 45 is operable to be located in either of -two positions on an alignment parallel to the machine crosshead 8. In one of the positions, outlined with a solid line in Figs. 2 and 8, -the arm 45 is moved to the right such that the probe 43 operates as close as posslble to the left flange 2g of the sec-tion when the moving assembly in configrured as in Figure 4, whereas in -the opposite position incipielltly drawn in bro~en lines in Figure 89 the arm 45 is moved to -the left so that the probe 43 wi~l operate as close as possible to the section's right flange 2d when said moving assembly is configured as in ~igure 6. An actuator is pro-vided, consisting of a motor 47 whose output shaft is coupled to a pinion 4~ connected via a chain 49 to another pinion 50 journaled to the shaft 46 of arm 45, to drive the arm 45 between its two positions.
Assuming that holes are to be drllled in the le~t flar.ge 2g of the section, the probe vtill move to take dimensions in the follorring way: the main N/C program brings about the positioning o~ arm 45 as per Figures 2 and 8; these same program instructions, knowing the cross section of the member 2 to be drilled have in store the distance between the probe 43 and the fixed, reference jaw 12 of the vise '11 so that -the probe can operate as close as possible to the fillet joining the left flange 2g to web 2m. As soon as this distance is knwon9 numerical axis Y is notified by meRns of particular positioning set points enabling the carriage 16 to be traversed un-til said probe 43 has reached the selected posi-tion. lhereafter, similarly "particular" positioning instructions are sent -to the numerical Z-axis to lower slide 21. Probe 43 being extended for operation, sends a signal to -the N/~ processor as soon as the probe makes contact with the top surface 42 of the web 2m~ so that the processor can determine -the origin of the measurements to be made during the drilling phase, illustra-ted by ~ig. 4. Said ori-gin having been placed in storage, the probe 43 is retracted and themoving assembly 16~ 21, 25 operates as described in the foregoing with - 13 - ~ 5 reference to ~ig. 4. To carry out the drilling step represented in ~ig. 6, the sa~e detection of the origin or gauge line for measurements is carried ou-t near the right flange 2d~ but the arm 45 in this case extends in the opposite direction as shown with broken lines in ~ig. 8.
A second complementary capability consists in detecting the actual length of a drill and storing the tool length value automatical-ly under ~/C control. ~or this purpose, 3s can be seen from Pigure 2, a probe 51, preferably electrical in nature, is slidably mounted on a damper in a housing 52 which is ~qecured by means of a supporting member 52a at the end of crosshead ~. Said probe 51 is adapted to move parallel to the crosshead. A speci~ic main program instruction can now bring about the orientation of spindle head 25 so that the drill -to be measured extends horizontally to the right 3nd the N/C memory is cRlled upon to take into account -the subsequent measurements concerning said drill.
~o earry out this measurement of tool length funetion, a "particular"
or dedicated feedrate instruetion is given -to the numerical Z-axis and causes slide 21 to slide vertically until said selected drill reaches th0 level of probe 51. Pinally, a particular or dedicated positioning instruction is sent to the numerical Y-axis -to traverse carriage 16 to - 20 the right and downeounts its movement, for example based upon an origin associated with the absence of a tool in -the spindle or with a reference drill in said spindle. The measurement taken when probe 51 sends its contact signal in this case eorresponds to the effective length of the drill. This length value is taken into account by the ~T/C memory in determining the positioning strokes for the machining phases as per ! Pigures 4 through 7.
A third complementary capability is automatie tool changing.
In keeping with the invention~ the tool changer is simplified by using as driving means the moving assembly 16, 21, 25 of the machining eenter together with its assoeiated numerical control.
~ he tool ehanger eomprises a magazine 5~ (~igs. 2 and 9A-9~) designed to reCeiYe drills 5 or other tools with tapered, eylindrieal shanks 54 with an intermediate flange (~ig. 11) 55. Magazine 53 is a horizontal plate fast ~ith a vertieal mounting bend 56. Said plate is provided with holes 57 into whieh the drills 5 are norm~lly deposited 14 ~L;~
to rest therein,shank-up by their mid-length flanges 55 on said pla-te.
Holes 57 thus constitute tool storage compartments having a vertical axls parallel -to ~I/C axis Z and being arranged in a row parallel to the Y-axis.
Magazinc 53 is designed to be served by the center's moving assembly 16, 21 3 25 whose chucks 27 on rotating spindles 26.1 to 26.4 of head 25 are automatic locking/unlocking types no-t requiring spindle rotation to stop for ope~tion. A chuck of this type is sho~m in greater detail and by ~Yay of example in ~igure 11. It comprises a 10 hollow body 58, providing a recess 59 accommodating the shank 54 of a drill 5. A control sleeve 61 is fitted freely in both rotation and translation around body 58 by means of a ball bearing 60. Said slceve 61 h~s a cylindrical bore 62 and a divergent conical bore 63 ~o~ning two bearings to actua-te two ball rings 64 and 65~ which are captive but 15 have some radial play in body 58. ~'ihen said control sleeve 6l is in locked position (bottom half of ~igure 11), said balls 64 and 65 are pushed back towards the center by bearing surfaces 62 and 63 and sink into dimples 66 and 67 in the shank 54, thus coupling the latter to chuck body 58. ~onversely, when said sleeve 61 is in unlocked position 20 (top half of the figure) balls 64 and 65 are applied by centriPugal force and possibly by elastic means against conical bearing surface 63, thus escapin~ Erom dimples 66, 67 and breaking the above-mentioned coupling. 'rO change from locked to unlocked confi~ation, only requires sliding the sleeve 61 axially in the direction of arrow ~, while locking 25 is accomplished by slidin~ said sleeve in the o~posite direction. ~he sliding action can be imparted to the sleeve 61 thanks to the circular boss 68 thereon.
Tool changer magazine 5~ cooperates with a reciprocating comb 69 (~ig. 10) whose -teeth 70 are separated by cutouts 71. To u~lock a 30 drill 5, sleeve 61 must be inser-ted into the selected cutou-t 71 and the ad~acent tee-th 70 of said cutout must be applied to the boss 68 on said sleeve to l~3ise the latter uhilst the chuck body 58 continues to rotate at a constant level. 'rhe comb 69 is swivelably moun-ted on shafts72 in its middle portion, ca.rried by fixed bearings 73. Said 35 bearings are arranged so that the cutouts in the comb are always located ~2~ 5 in front of the holes or compartments 57 in the magazine. The back of the comb opposite the teeth is connected to an actuating means such as a cylinder 74, the sliding elemen-ts whereof -- cylinder and piston rod --are articulated by a spindle 75 on the back of the comb and by a spindle 76 on the fixed frame ~igures 2, 9A-9D and 10). Actuating means 74 swivels the comb 69 so that it is ei-ther inclined upwards (~igs. 9~, 9C) or dow~Yards (Figs. 9A, 9D~ with respect to the tool holder plate.
An automatic tool cnanging operation will no.w be described ~ --with reference to Figures 9A through 9D, in which the chuck 27, the tool lQ 5, the magazine 53 and the comb 69 are drawn highly schematically for greater clari-ty of the individual steps. ~or instance, the tool flange 55 and the sleeve flange or boss 68 are omitted from the drawing although they are referred to describing this tool changing oycle.
~he particular tool changing instructions of the main ~/~
program select the drill to be changed 5c and the hole or compartment 57c of the magazine in which said drill must be dropped~ Said particular instructions or set points call upon the swivelling spindle head 25 to place the spindle 26 of drill 5c in a vertical, downward position and also call upon the comb 69 to place it down-inclined position (Fig. 9A).
The same particular instructions are transfered to the numerical Y and Z
axes to traverse carriage 16 -to the point wnere drill 5c is facing hole 57c and to move slide 21 to the point where said drill 5c is engaged in x said hole 57c; in the latter position, the circular fla~ge 68 of the chuck sleeve 61 Oll chuck 27c comes close to comb 69.
~he particular instructions actuate comb 69 to swivel to its raised posi-tion (~ig. 9~). Slide 21 being i~mobilzed, sleeve 61 rises and chuck 27c releases drill 5c.
~he particular instrllctions again activate numerical a2es Y
and Z to raise slide 21 and carriage 16 advances to hole 57m containing the new tool -to be chucked 5m; then slide 21 comes do~m.
The flange 68 of chuck 27c sleeve 61 meets with the comb 69 in raised position (Fig. 9c) and lowering of slide 21 and thus of -the chuck body 58 relative to the f-ixed flange continues until unlocking is accomplished; in this position, body 58 hugs the tapered shanX 54 of the new tool 5m to be chucked.
.
.. ,~ .
~2~ $
~ he particular instructions then call upon the comb 69 to swivel to lowered position (~ig. gD). Sleeve 61 slides down and locks the chuck 27c on tool 5m.
Numerical axes Y and Z are once more controlled by particular instructions to raise the slide 21 and traverse carriage 16 back towards -the structural section 2.
~ he invention is no-t limited to the specifie embodiment which has been illustrated and described in detail herein, as various modifi-cations can be expeeted to oceur to persons skilled in the art without leaving the seope of the invention. Most notably, machining operations other than drilling ean be easily aecommodated b~ the lnvention.
Claims (13)
PROPERTY OR PRIVILEGE IS CLAIMED ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS:
1. Apparatus for machining holes in a workpiece including in combination a machining station, means for moving the workpiece to a predetermined position relative to the station along an X axis of a coordinate system having mutually orthogonal X and Y and Z axes, means operable during hole machining to maintain the workpiece at said X position, the station including a plurality of tools rotating about axes disposed in the YZ plane, each tool having a hole machining end, the rotational axes of the tools intersecting at a point and the hole machining ends extending away from said point, first means for translating the tools along the Y axis, second means for translating the tools along the Z axis, means for swiveling the tools about said point to select one tool for hole machining duty and to orient the selected tool such that its rotational axis makes a predetermined angle relative to the Z axis, means operable during hole machining to translate the selected tool along its rotational axis by simultaneously controlling the first and second means to produce incremental Y and Z
translations, and a probe mounted for concomitant Y and Z
translation with the tools and adapted to engage the workpiece and provide a signal indicating the relative positioning between workpiece and tools.
translations, and a probe mounted for concomitant Y and Z
translation with the tools and adapted to engage the workpiece and provide a signal indicating the relative positioning between workpiece and tools.
2. Apparatus for machining holes in a workpiece including in combination a machining station, means for moving the workpiece to a predetermined position relative to the station along an X axis of a coordinate system having mutually orthogonal X and Y and Z axes, means operable during hole machining to maintain the workpiece at said X position, the station including a plurality of tools rotating about axes disposed in the YZ plane, each tool having a hole machining end, the rotational axes of the tools intersecting at a point and the hole machining ends extending away from said point, first means for translating the tools along the Y axis, second means for translating the tools along the Z axis, means for swiveling the tools about said point to select one tool for hole machining duty and to orient the selected tool such that its rotational axis makes a predetermined angle relative to the Z axis, means operable during hole machining to translate the selected tool along its rotational axis by simultaneously controlling the first and second means to produce incremental Y and Z
translations, and a probe adapted to be engaged by a tool and to provide a signal indicating the true length of said tool along its rotational axis.
translations, and a probe adapted to be engaged by a tool and to provide a signal indicating the true length of said tool along its rotational axis.
3. Apparatus for machining holes in a workpiece including in combination a machining station, means for moving the workpiece to a predetermined position relative to the station along an X axis of a coordinate system having mutually orthogonal X and Y and Z axes, means operable during hole machining to maintain the workpiece at said X position, the station including a plurality of tools rotating about axes disposed in the YZ plane, each tool having a hole machining end, the rotational axes of the tools intersecting at a point and the hole machining ends extending away from said point, first means for translating the tools along the Y axis, second means for translating the tools along the Z axis, means for swiveling the tools about said point to select one tool for hole machining duty and to orient the selected tool such that its rotational axis makes a predetermined angle relative to the Z axis, means operable during hole machining to translate the selected tool along its rotational axis by simultaneously controlling the first and second means to produce incremental Y and Z
translations, a magazine having a first and a second storage compartment, a further tool disposed in the second compartment, the swiveling means including a controllable chuck, and means including the first and second means and the chuck for sequentially depositing one tool of said plurality in the first compartment and withdrawing the further tool from the second compartment.
translations, a magazine having a first and a second storage compartment, a further tool disposed in the second compartment, the swiveling means including a controllable chuck, and means including the first and second means and the chuck for sequentially depositing one tool of said plurality in the first compartment and withdrawing the further tool from the second compartment.
4. Apparatus for machining holes in a workpiece including in combination a machining station, means for moving the workpiece to a predetermined position relative to the station along an X axis of a coordinate system having mutually orthogonal X and Y and Z axes, means operable during hole machining and comprising a controllable clamp for maintaining the workpiece at said X
position, the station including a plurality of tools rotating about axes disposed in the YZ plane, each tool having a hole machining end, the rotational axes of the tools intersecting at a point and hole machining ends extending away from said point, first means for translating the tools along the Y axis, second means for translating the tools along the Z axis, means for swiveling the tools about said point to select one tool for hole machining duty and to orient the selected tool such that its rotational axis makes a predetermined angle relative to the Z axis, and means operable during hole machining to translate the selected tool along its rotational axis by simultaneously controlling the first and second means to produce incremental Y and Z
translations.
position, the station including a plurality of tools rotating about axes disposed in the YZ plane, each tool having a hole machining end, the rotational axes of the tools intersecting at a point and hole machining ends extending away from said point, first means for translating the tools along the Y axis, second means for translating the tools along the Z axis, means for swiveling the tools about said point to select one tool for hole machining duty and to orient the selected tool such that its rotational axis makes a predetermined angle relative to the Z axis, and means operable during hole machining to translate the selected tool along its rotational axis by simultaneously controlling the first and second means to produce incremental Y and Z
translations.
5. Apparatus for machining holes in a workpiece including in combination a machining station, means for moving the workpiece to a predetermined position relative to the station along an X axis of a coordinate system having mutually orthogonal X and Y and Z axes, the X and Y
axes being horizontal and the Z axis being vertical, means operable during hole machining to maintain the workpiece at said X position, the station including a plurality of tools rotating about axes disposed in the YZ plane, each tool having a hole machining end, the rotational axes of the tools intersecting at a point and the hole machining ends extending away from said point, first means for translating the tools along the Y axis, second means for translating the tools along the Z axis, the second means being mounted upon the first means, means for swiveling the tools about said point to select one tool for hole machining duty and to orient the selected tool such that its rotational axis makes a predetermined angle relative to the Z axis, the swiveling means including a plurality of spindles rotating about axes disposed in the YZ plane, the spindle axes intersecting at said point and being spaced by equal angles, and means operable during hole machining to translate the selected tool along its rotational axis by simultaneously controlling the first and second means to produce incremental Y and Z
translations.
axes being horizontal and the Z axis being vertical, means operable during hole machining to maintain the workpiece at said X position, the station including a plurality of tools rotating about axes disposed in the YZ plane, each tool having a hole machining end, the rotational axes of the tools intersecting at a point and the hole machining ends extending away from said point, first means for translating the tools along the Y axis, second means for translating the tools along the Z axis, the second means being mounted upon the first means, means for swiveling the tools about said point to select one tool for hole machining duty and to orient the selected tool such that its rotational axis makes a predetermined angle relative to the Z axis, the swiveling means including a plurality of spindles rotating about axes disposed in the YZ plane, the spindle axes intersecting at said point and being spaced by equal angles, and means operable during hole machining to translate the selected tool along its rotational axis by simultaneously controlling the first and second means to produce incremental Y and Z
translations.
6. Apparatus as in claim 1, 2 or 3 wherein said predetermined angle includes angles in a first region extending from 0° through at least +90° and angles in a second region extending from 0° through at least -90°.
7. Apparatus as in claim 4 or 5 wherein said predetermined angle includes angles in a first region extending from 0° through at least +90° and angles in a second region extending from 0° through at least -90°.
8. Apparatus as in claim 1, 2 or 3 wherein the ratio of incremental Y and Z translations is equal to a trigonometric function of said angle.
9. Apparatus as in claim 4 or 5 wherein the ratio of incremental Y and Z translations is equal to a trigonometric function of said angle.
10. Apparatus as in claim 1, 2 or 3 wherein a selected tool is selectively swiveled to a 0° angle, wherein a selected tool is selectively swiveled to a different angle, wherein at the 0° angle the second means is controlled to produce some incremental Z translation and the first means is controlled to produce no incremental Y translation, and wherein at said different angle the first means is controlled to produce some incremental Y translation and the second means is controlled to produce predetermined incremental Z
translation.
translation.
11. Apparatus as in claim 4 or 5 wherein a selected tool is selectively swiveled to a 0° angle, wherein a selected tool is selectively swiveled to a different angle, wherein at the 0° angle the second means is controlled to produce some incremental Z translation and the first means is controlled to produce no incremental Y translation, and wherein at said different angle the first means is controlled to produce some incremental Y translation and the second means is controlled to produce predetermined incremental Z
translation.
translation.
12. Apparatus as in claim 1, 2 or 3 wherein a selected tool is selectively swiveled to a ?90° angle, wherein a selected tool is selectively swiveled to a different angle, wherein at the ?90° angle the first means is controlled to produce some incremental Y translation and the second means is controlled to produce no incremental Z translation, and wherein at said different angle the second means is controlled to produce some incremental Z translation and the first means is controlled to produce predetermined incremental Y
translation.
translation.
13. Apparatus as in claim 4 or 5 wherein a selected tool is selectively swiveled to a ?90° angle, wherein a selected tool is selectively swiveled to a different angle, wherein at the +90° angle the first means is controlled to produce some incremental Y translation and the second means is controlled to produce no incremental Z translation, and wherein at said different angle the second means is controlled to produce some incremental Z translation and the first means is controlled to produce predetermined incremental Y
translation.
translation.
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| FR8412556A FR2568799B1 (en) | 1984-08-08 | 1984-08-08 | CNC-PROFILE MACHINING CENTER |
| FR8412556 | 1984-08-08 |
Publications (1)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA1249425A true CA1249425A (en) | 1989-01-31 |
Family
ID=9306915
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA000487899A Expired CA1249425A (en) | 1984-08-08 | 1985-07-31 | Numerical-control machining center for structural sections |
Country Status (8)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| US (1) | US4706373A (en) |
| EP (1) | EP0172105B1 (en) |
| AT (1) | ATE38790T1 (en) |
| CA (1) | CA1249425A (en) |
| DE (1) | DE3566362D1 (en) |
| ES (1) | ES8700592A1 (en) |
| FR (1) | FR2568799B1 (en) |
| IN (1) | IN165832B (en) |
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| US3730635A (en) * | 1969-10-06 | 1973-05-01 | R Orendi | Drill press |
| US3668971A (en) * | 1970-06-02 | 1972-06-13 | Cincinnati Milacron Inc | Method and apparatus for machining an elongated workpiece |
| US3703027A (en) * | 1971-04-01 | 1972-11-21 | Gray & Co G A | Turret indexing assembly |
| BE793515A (en) * | 1971-12-30 | 1973-04-16 | Arboga Maskin Ab | MACHINE, IN PARTICULAR DRILLING MACHINE, EQUIPPED WITH EXCHANGEABLE TOOLS AND EQUIPPED WITH SELECTABLE SPEED LEVELS |
| DE2230144C3 (en) * | 1972-06-21 | 1980-03-27 | Schiess Ag, 4000 Duesseldorf | Tool support with a chisel slide that can be moved vertically therein with a tool changer assigned to the chisel slide |
| US3909923A (en) * | 1972-12-14 | 1975-10-07 | Toyoda Machine Works Ltd | Numerically controlled machine tool with miscellaneous function control circuit to reduced unproductive periods to a minimum |
| US3830584A (en) * | 1972-12-22 | 1974-08-20 | Onsrud Machine Works Inc | Turret system for machine tool |
| US3823645A (en) * | 1973-05-23 | 1974-07-16 | N Sjundjukov | Milling machine |
| US4187608A (en) * | 1973-10-17 | 1980-02-12 | Nyce Andrew C | Implantable teeth and method of making |
| DE2415118A1 (en) * | 1974-03-28 | 1975-10-16 | Arboga Maskin Ab | Programme controlled drilling machine - workpiece and drill movement utilizing a cam track with adjustable cams |
| US3975109A (en) * | 1975-08-29 | 1976-08-17 | Houdaille Industries, Inc. | Z-axis drive assembly |
| JPS52108588A (en) * | 1976-03-10 | 1977-09-12 | Okuma Mach Works Ltd | Value control lathe |
| GB1486524A (en) * | 1976-04-05 | 1977-09-21 | Geometric Mach Tools Ltd | Machine tools |
| US4061064A (en) * | 1976-12-01 | 1977-12-06 | W. A. Whitney Corporation | Apparatus for forming holes in the flanges of structural members |
| DE2723544A1 (en) * | 1977-05-25 | 1978-12-07 | Heyligenstaedt & Co | Multi-spindle milling machine - has probes ascertaining tool positions, causing adjustment via regulating circuit activating positioning gear |
| US4164879A (en) * | 1977-12-14 | 1979-08-21 | The Warner & Swasey Company | Machine tool coolant system |
| DE2847510A1 (en) * | 1978-11-02 | 1980-06-04 | Hueller Hille Gmbh | METHOD FOR CORRECTING THE LENGTHS AND RADIUS OF TOOLS, ESPECIALLY FOR NUMERICALLY CONTROLLED MACHINES WITH POSITION OR TRAVEL MEASURING SYSTEMS BY MEANS OF THE REQUIRED-ACTUAL COMPARISON |
| DE2900469A1 (en) * | 1979-01-08 | 1980-07-10 | Leopold Jaegers | METHOD FOR MEASURING A PROFILE IN A MACHINE |
| FR2507935A1 (en) * | 1981-06-19 | 1982-12-24 | Etu Fraisage Centre | IMPROVEMENTS TO HIGH-PRODUCTIVITY MACHINE TOOLS |
| JPS58186540A (en) * | 1982-04-21 | 1983-10-31 | Toshiba Corp | Parts machining device of two-divisional type |
| DE3216566A1 (en) * | 1982-05-04 | 1983-11-10 | Dieter 6802 Ladenburg Wipperfürth | Method and device for producing a car wheel of approved design type |
| SU1133068A1 (en) * | 1983-05-23 | 1985-01-07 | Уфимский Ордена Ленина Авиационный Институт Им.Серго Орджоникидзе | Metal-cutting machine |
| DE3327084A1 (en) * | 1983-07-27 | 1985-02-07 | Wanderer Maschinen GmbH, 8013 Haar | Machine tool with tool-change attachment |
| FR2556627B1 (en) * | 1983-12-16 | 1990-10-12 | Honda Motor Co Ltd | DRILL |
| US4589174A (en) * | 1984-03-27 | 1986-05-20 | Brigham Young University | Polar coordinate apparatus |
-
1984
- 1984-08-08 FR FR8412556A patent/FR2568799B1/en not_active Expired
-
1985
- 1985-07-29 IN IN603/DEL/85A patent/IN165832B/en unknown
- 1985-07-29 US US06/760,133 patent/US4706373A/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
- 1985-07-31 CA CA000487899A patent/CA1249425A/en not_active Expired
- 1985-08-05 AT AT85401594T patent/ATE38790T1/en active
- 1985-08-05 EP EP85401594A patent/EP0172105B1/en not_active Expired
- 1985-08-05 DE DE8585401594T patent/DE3566362D1/en not_active Expired
- 1985-08-08 ES ES546008A patent/ES8700592A1/en not_active Expired
Also Published As
| Publication number | Publication date |
|---|---|
| ATE38790T1 (en) | 1988-12-15 |
| US4706373A (en) | 1987-11-17 |
| IN165832B (en) | 1990-01-20 |
| ES546008A0 (en) | 1986-10-16 |
| FR2568799B1 (en) | 1986-09-26 |
| ES8700592A1 (en) | 1986-10-16 |
| EP0172105A1 (en) | 1986-02-19 |
| EP0172105B1 (en) | 1988-11-23 |
| DE3566362D1 (en) | 1988-12-29 |
| FR2568799A1 (en) | 1986-02-14 |
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Legal Events
| Date | Code | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| MKEX | Expiry |